Integrated research on land-use changes in the face of urban transformations - An analytic framework for further studies

•Multifunctional urban areas are academically rarely discussed from socio-environmental point of view.•In urban areas land use is under constant pressure.•Land-use changes must be geared in a resource-efficient and resilient way.•Interspersed processes of shrinkage and growth can emerge on different spatial and temporal scales.•Urban transformations seek to find appropriate development responses to disruptions and novel challenges.

We state that land use is under constant pressure, no matter if land-use changes take place in growing or shrinking cities. Land-use changes witness multiple interdependencies between environmental, social and economic factors. In urban areas land is highly exposed to accelerating consumption which makes it a scarce and precious resource. Therefore we need transformative processes to deal with land use in a more sensible and responsible way. We define urban transformations as fundamental, multi-dimensional changes in urban land-use patterns, population developments, infrastructures, governance regimes as well as established values, norms and behaviours. A central focus is on land use and its changes to supply ecosystem services as key driver for quality of life. Most important for us is that transformative processes are highly dynamic and non-linear, thus affecting functions of urban land uses in different ways and with varying consequences. In this sense, governance research is a decisive component to implement our research in practice. With this viewpoint we want to contribute to a debate on land-use changes in alternating growing and shrinking cities to foster appropriate development responses for urban transformations towards sustainability.

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